Doctor Who: Book Of The Gods
by Dracius
Summary: Have you ever wondered just what The Doctor would do with the power to kill at a glance? Or just whether The Library had every single book?
1. Chapter 1

Doctor Who: Book of the Gods

Chapter 1: A Fair Warning

_It had been a mere few months since the TARDIS first touched ground on The Library, but in reality a good 10 years had passed. Unlike the last time, The Library was not deserted, it was much as he had left it, the isles were filled with fine people, ranging through all races, people of all shapes, sizes and even colours, (at least this goes to show that our literary community is not a dead one, am I right readers?). There was (thankfully) one thing missing this time around, that being the Vashta Nerada, thus leaving The Library in the tranquil state that it is meant to be witnessed. _

The familiar sounds of the TARDIS engines filled the silence that was The Library. The doors opened and The Doctor steps out, to a rather loud shushing sound, and to the fact that there were a near hundred people staring at him in near disgust.

"Sorry" said The Doctor in almost a whisper. With this the occupants of The Library continued with their activities, which one can only imagine to be reading really… what else is there to do?

The Doctor had decided to come back to The Library after the decision to take a holiday, and where better place to take a holiday than the centre-point of all human literature?

So where would our Doctor decide to go first? Horror? Mystery? Western? Or perhaps he'd take a gamble and go to a section of the library with the books that would not fit into any other particular genre. The latter sounded like his best bet, so off he trundled.

An old man dressed in rags, looking particularly like a human beggar approached the doctor on his way to this section.

"Beware Doctor!" he shouted. "Beware the book of the gods". The Doctor just considered this to be another general ranting of a mad man, but then broke his stride. 'How did he know who I am?', the thought crossed The Doctor's mind, but as he turned to question it, the man was gone. 'Then again' The Doctor thought, 'maybe I'm more famous than I realised' with this thought in mind The Doctor continued on grinning like a chimp.

After a ten minute stroll, The Doctor reached his destination and started looking through the books, realising that most of these were ones that people couldn't be bothered to put back in the right place, so after looking around them for a few minutes, The Doctor decided to sit down with a copy of Stephen King's 'The Stand'. He had settled into the book and been reading avidly for about an hour, when he spotted out of the corner of his eye, a black, leather-bound book with no title on the spine, he thought this somewhat odd and continued reading, but his eyes were always averted back to this book, so he placed his novel down and stood to investigate. He picked the book from the shelf, the front and back covers were as untitled as the spine of it. He opened the pages, they were blank, just sheets of lined paper, 'ohh come on' he thought, 'I know this place is meant to have every book, but a bloody exercise pad?' The Doctor laughed, 'well at least the creator has a sense of humour'. The Doctor turned back towards his chair to continue his novel, much to his surprise, the chair had been occupied in his absence, so he picked up the novel and sat on the floor, still with the leather-bound exercise pad under his arm.

As he sat down, he heard a distant laughter, growing louder and louder, almost to a deafening degree. Yet the rest of The Library were unstirred by it, as if they could not hear it at all, then The Doctor saw the cause of it. The man in the rags that stopped him earlier was standing there, straight in front of him, laughing vigorously. Yet somehow no one could see nor hear him.

"You were warned Doctor!" he bellowed, the man pulled the cloak of his hood down from his face, to reveal a twisted old individual, his hair was white as if he had just seen some sort of ghost or been surprised beyond anything. His eyes were red as they would be on a poor quality camera shot, and his smile, ohh god the smile, an almost toothless smile, but somewhat disturbing. "You were warned Doctor!" he repeated, "and now my time is over, the turn is yours", as The Doctor stood in confusion, the man dropped to the floor clutching his chest, and from the other hand he dropped a book, a black, leather-bound book. This made the doctor look at the book still in his hand.

"Well Doctor", a booming voice made The Doctor look up again, a figure had appeared in front of him floating over the dead man's body, this figure was far from human. Its skin was blue, the wings that sprouted from its back were a darker shade of the same colour, with some rather large feathers sprouting from the connection between the wings and the creature's back. Its face was white, not just pale, but pure white, with a smile stretched from ear to ear, which opened to continue his sentence; "Shall we begin?"

"What!?" the doctor responded, but unlike the last ounce of noise, no one heard him, nor did the turn to face the creature in the centre of the room. The Doctor looked back at the book in his hand, the front cover started to twist and distort, then two words appeared on the cover of the book… Death Note. The Doctor looked up in an avid sense of fear and repeated… "What!?"


	2. Chapter 2

Doctor Who: Book of the Gods

Chapter 2: The Doctor's New Companion

The Doctor stood astonished, rarely was he lost for words, but he opened his mouth to have only air come out of it. The residents of The Library began to stare over at him from their books, they must have believed him to be somewhat disturbed or in a state of lunacy, but The Doctor knew what he saw, he knew what was in front of him, even if no one else could see it. He looked again to the book in his hand, and realised that that must be it, that must be the reason he could see this creature, he threw it to the ground and backed away from it, never once taking his eyes off it, until, he looked to see if the creature was still there… he had gone, vanished completely, the doctor let out a sigh of relief, he ran through the now gathering crowd, back into the TARDIS and locked the doors behind him. As always the doctor was intrigued by what had just gone on, but it had confused him to the point that he wished to just sit down and think things over. So he reclined to his chair near the control panel and lay back into it, staring up to the roof of the TARDIS.

"You forgot this", The Doctor jumped out of his chair as he saw the creature floating above him holding the book above him. The creature started laughing, he was amused that he had managed to startle a man known for his inability to be 'shook up'.

"What are you!" The Doctor shouted, obvious to the creature, he was getting aggravated by this point.

"A little insensitive isn't it Doctor?" the creature answered. "You could've asked 'who are you?' or 'what is your name?', but no, the ever-forward Doctor, 'what are you!'", the creature imitated The Doctor's tone as he repeated the question given to him. The Doctor was getting more infuriated with each passing moment, but the creature continued to rant: "Honestly, if I'd have wanted someone to shout at me with no regards for my feelings, I'd have gotten married" the creature chuckled, "but you surprise me Doctor, can you honestly say that in your years of travelling, you have never encountered a Shinigami?"

The Doctor's expression rapidly (and drastically) changed, "No, the Shinigami are things of myth, legend even, creatures made up by parents to make children have nightmares, tell me what you are!"

"Is it so hard to comprehend Doctor?" asked the creature "you are a lord of time, as I am a god of death, it really is that simple".

But The Doctor refused to believe, "A Plasmavore? No, you can't be, for that you would have to find the being that you could replicate the shape of. Definitely a shapeshifter though, definitely" The Doctor muttered to himself whilst circling the creature.

"If it's any consolation, my name is Ryuk" said the creature quite morosely.

"I never asked for your name" answered The Doctor, with a certain hint of anger to his tone. "But I will humour you, 'Ryuk', tell me, what is the book for?".

Ryuk threw the Death Note to The Doctor. "The Notebook is how we survive" answered Ryuk "A Shinigami must end the lives of humans in order to extend their own lifespan".

"So you make sure people die at the right time then? As if everyone has a set lifespan from the start?" The Doctor inquired, actually becoming interested in the job of the Shinigami.

"Not exactly" answered Ryuk, "We end their lives ahead of schedule so to speak, and anything left over, is ours".

"So you murder them? You end innocent lives to fill your greed for immortality?" The Doctor was beginning to think he were negotiating with some sort of supernatural terrorist.

"They aren't always so innocent" Ryuk smiled, "No one really knows why Jack The Ripper was never found, nor do the have a reason as to why Van Gogh killed himself … I've been around a long time Doctor, the natural instinct of any being is to survive for as long as they can, no matter what"

"Innocent lives Ryuk", The Doctor raised his voice a little

"So you personally know that everyone is a saint, and no one makes a bad move? I've seen into your past Doctor, I've watched you for a long time, I've seen who you've loved, and who you've lost… you shouldn't blame yourself for those who are gone".

The Doctor stopped pacing around the TARDIS, and stared straight into the eyes of Ryuk, "my mistakes are not your concern!" this statement brought silence to Ryuk, "now, tell me, how do you kill them without being noticed by the entire world?"

Ryuk pointed back to the book, "this is a new notebook, and is empty, but a Shinigami's notebook has all of the names of the people who's lives they've taken written in it, as well as the times and causes of death, this is how we survive."

"It can't be as simple as that, people don't just die because you tell them to" answered The Doctor, seemingly disgusted at what he had heard.

"Oh but they do Doctor, and the book is yours now, think of all the good you could do" Ryuk began in a persuasive tone.

"I refuse to kill for my own needs" The Doctor answered, throwing the book onto the floor.

"But think about it Doctor", Ryuk started, "you have the notebook and a time machine, you could stop a madman being born, or stop a corrupt mind getting to the throne", then Ryuk smiled sinisterly, "If you take the right people, you could save worlds, by ending a war at it's very genesis…"


	3. Chapter 3

Doctor Who: Book of the Gods

Chapter 3: Worlds Apart?

The Doctor had stood silent at this proposal for almost an hour, the mere thought of it seemed to split his moral compass into two halves. The one half completely abhorring the idea, seeing as so many lives had been lost to the Time War already, he wouldn't let any more people suffer, not even if it were for the greater good. Yet, the other half, was considering the positives, so many people, friends, the closest friends that he'd watched die and burn, and for what? For the Daleks to find a way to come back, like they always do?

"No", he finally managed to say, "no, I won't be a part of this, I refuse". The Doctors voice almost showing trepidation. "And besides" he continued "even if I did want to stop it, it's a fixed point in history, it's locked, there's nothing I can do about that".

All this time, Ryuk had paid no attention to The Doctor, he was simply floating about the place, admiring the interior design of the TARDIS, but at this refusal, he turned to The Doctor; "fixed point?" Ryuk laughed, "Doctor, you know as well as I, there's no such thing. If there were, how would those tin-can-slug things keep coming back to pester you?". Ryuk suddenly held his finger up in such a manner you'd expect a bulb to illuminate above his head. "Davros!" He shouted with glee, "now there's a start".

It seemed that everything The Doctor had to say was being ignored, "Ryuk, nothing of the sort is going to happen" he insisted. "If one general falls, it is always a fact that another one, more wicked and ruthless than the last, shall take his place, and so on and so on. So any consideration of this would likely alleviate any situation I would try to prevent".

The Doctor had turned away from Ryuk to tap a course into the console of his TARDIS. Ryuk, upside down, popped down to him from above. "Where are we going first?" Ryuk asked, excited.  
"Home" answered The Doctor, sternly.

"Gallifrey? Good choice, always good to have a home field advan-"

"No", The Doctor cut Ryuk off mid-word, "If you really are a Shinigami, and if my memory is as good as I brag it is… then your realm is directly above Earth"

Ryuk's entire expression changed, he seemed worried and angered at the same time, "Doctor, I wouldn't do that, the Shinigami would not welcome… either of us".

The Doctor smiled at Ryuk, "we'll see" he smirked, "we'll just see".

And with that, The Doctor pulled on the handle of the TARDIS console as hard as he could, the time machine began to spin out of control, Ryuk lost his balance in mid flight and was sent hurtling into a wall, "Doctor!" he shrieked, "you really don't want to do this!". The Doctor clutched on to the console, laughing all the way down, until everything stopped so suddenly that the doctor was slung back from the console, and thrown against the locked doors of the TARDIS.

Hours had passed, and the doctor was coming around. His vision faded back into view, and the first thing he saw was Ryuk's lipless, merciless smile above him. He jumped back, Ryuk shouted out, startled. "What the devil were you doing so close to my face?".

Ryuk chuckled, "there's a joke in there, but this is much too PG for me to find it" (right kids?). "I guess we'd better get this over with", Ryuk sighed as he put his hand on the TARDIS door.

The Doctor opened the door, the sight he opened it to was astonishing. Something that had once been beautiful, but was now decimated beyond any redemption. He stepped out into this wasteland, the heat was almost unbearable, the sandstorm that raged around him cut at his face and hands. He turned his back and ran back into the TARDIS. He looked at the backs of his hands, they were grazed from the storm, he felt his cheek, and noticed blood on his fingers when he removed his hand from his face. 'This is no sand' he thought. He took a sideward glance back at Ryuk, who was still at the door, unscathed by it all, or if he was scathed, he seemed to heal too quickly for the eye to see, either way, the look on his face was a sombre one, when you look past the smile and to the eyes, you could almost see sadness. "Are you alright?" asked The Doctor, more out of politeness than concern.

The response that followed was not one that The Doctor had expected. "I do not feel sad Doctor" he began, "I mourn". The irony of a Shinigami mourning seemed to confuse The Doctor.

"You kill to survive, what would you know about mourning!?" The Doctor was suddenly outraged.

"It's not that Doctor, I don't mourn for people, I never have. But I can mourn for a place, a home, a world.

The Doctor's expression changed, this was something he could empathize with. He walked through a door leading out of the console room, and re-emerged moments later, clad in heavy leathers, the type of thing you'd expect a desert walker to wear, his coat was down to his knees, a heavy scarf around his face and head, and a pair of goggles to shield his eyes. As he pulled on his last glove, he mumbled something muffled by the scarf, and set back out into the desert.

They seemed to walk in silence for far too long, The Doctor had initially intended to send Ryuk out into the storm and throw the notebook out with him, but a curiosity had overcame him, he was still thinking about what Ryuk had said. Why would a god of death mourn? Maybe he'd spent too much time away from his realm, and learnt a new emotion?

The further they walked the more The Doctor was noticing how the specs of whatever the material was in this storm were getting larger. He looked down onto the floor, and noticed that they were no longer specs, but they were becoming almost an inch in diameter, and the further he looked onto the horizon, the bigger they were becoming. The Doctor quickened his pace, intrigued to see what they would become. Ryuk was trying to say something to him, but The Doctor could only make out that the tone of his voice was desperate, he couldn't make out the words, so he didn't break his stride.

Until they reached the end of the cliff that was the horizon he'd thought it was…

The sight that befell The Doctor now was a horrifying one, he stood in awe and stared. In front of him, a citadel, surrounded by broken glass, it looked like a snow-globe that had been shattered on the floor and then stood back up in the midst of its pieces. Above it, a thousand or more winged creatures flew about the ruins, like a flock of vultures searching for prey.

He'd seen this sight before, a million times in his dreams, his nightmares. But never like this, never with these carrions flocking and scouring.

They were Shinigami…

…and their home was Gallifrey.


End file.
